Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 854)

hurricane florence flooding
Climate Change

Why rivers rise long after a hurricane is gone

Florence damaged the coast with storm surges, but farther inland the worst was yet to come.

By Sara Chodosh

These lizards are the holy grail of herpetology—they’re also targets in the illegal wildlife trade
Wildlife

These lizards are the holy grail of herpetology—they’re also targets in the illegal wildlife trade

Excerpt—Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking

By Rachel Love Nuwer

During a hurricane, where does all the pig poop go? Into your water.
Agriculture

During a hurricane, where does all the pig poop go? Into your water.

The horrifying pig poop floods in North Carolina are not a one-time thing.

By Jennifer Lu

The ExoMars spacecraft measured radiation in deep space to help keep future astronauts safe
Mars

The ExoMars spacecraft measured radiation in deep space to help keep future astronauts safe

The news isn't great, but it's not a showstopper either.

By Charlie Wood

a kitten and a puppy
Health

The FDA just issued a warning for flea and tick medication that might cause seizures

Here's what you should know

By Rachel Feltman

Your brain and body remember trauma differently than other events
Psychology

Your brain and body remember trauma differently than other events

How fear makes your brain write memories differently.

By Jacek Debiec/The Conversation

Three doctors in green surgical scrubs operating on a patient in the emergency room.
Cancer

Donated organs rarely spread disease, thanks to these protocols

Here's how the screening process that prevents disease transmission in donated organs works.

By Jillian Mock

a map shows growing storms in the atlantic
Environment

Hurricane Florence helped spin up new storms in the Atlantic

Flo isn't rising from the dead, but it's still influencing our weather.

By Dennis Mersereau

How to build a tabletop catapult
Projects

How to build a tabletop catapult

From wooden dowels and rubber bands.

By Sophie Bushwick

Ferrari mixed retro racing design and a V12 engine in its limited-edition Monza cars
Engineering

Ferrari mixed retro racing design and a V12 engine in its limited-edition Monza cars

It can get to 60 miles per hour in under three seconds.

By Jordan Golson

plane oxygen masks
Aviation

When a plane loses pressure, here’s what happens to your body

121 passengers found out recently when a Jet Airways flight crew forgot to pressurize the cabin.

By Sara Chodosh

Octopuses trip on ecstasy the same way we do
Evolution

Octopuses trip on ecstasy the same way we do

We may have more in common with invertebrates than we thought.

By Charlie Wood

The reclusive inventor of the Rubik’s Cube wants to do more than amuse you
Technology

The reclusive inventor of the Rubik’s Cube wants to do more than amuse you

Math, man vs. nature, and me.

By Eleanor Cummins

Want to save the planet? Don’t drain the swamps.
Global Warming

Want to save the planet? Don’t drain the swamps.

Swamps and bogs are more important than you think.

By William Moomaw, Gillian Davies, and Max Finlayson/The Conversation

Freezer bags are the secret to eating well on your next camping trip
Life Skills

Freezer bags are the secret to eating well on your next camping trip

Easy preparation before meals, no dishwashing after.

By Alisha McDarris

a mosquito on human skin
Cancer

Scientists used Zika to kill aggressive brain cancer cells in mice

If it works in humans, it could help eliminate one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

By Neel V. Patel

The government just made it easier for oil companies to leak methane on public land
Fossil Fuels

The government just made it easier for oil companies to leak methane on public land

It's just the latest environmental rollback.

By Jennifer Lu

There’s a planet exactly where Star Trek said Vulcan should be
Exoplanets

There’s a planet exactly where Star Trek said Vulcan should be

Countdown: 45 years left until ‘First Contact’

By Mary Beth Griggs

Polygraph tests don’t work as lie detectors and they never have
Science

Polygraph tests don’t work as lie detectors and they never have

It’s time to stop pinning our hopes on pseudoscience.

By Eleanor Cummins

We can’t blame Hurricane Maria’s high death toll on the storm
Environment

We can’t blame Hurricane Maria’s high death toll on the storm

Here's the devastating truth.

By Morten Wendelbo/The Conversation